This page discusses the settings administrators use to control access to courses for instructors and students. Learn more about:
Course Availability
Depending on the role privileges given to them, instructors have the ability to manage their course access through the following settings found in Course Settings within a course. On the Course Settings page under Course Access, these options include:
- Course Duration. The duration for each term.
- Locked. Course content is not available to students. Previously called Private.
- Complete. No changes can be made by students or instructors.
Additionally, you can manage these settings in the Administrator Panel.
- Select Courses in the Course module.
- Select a course using the search function.
- Go to the course’s dropdown menu and select Edit.
In the Availability section, options include:
- Available (this is analogous to Locked in the instructor interface)
- Yes
- No
- Duration
- Continuous
- Select Dates
- Days from the Date of Enrollment
- Complete
- Yes
- No
Note important: The Complete option in the Administrator Panel only applies to Ultra courses. Selecting Yes for an Original Course only disables notifications and may block other updates in the future for that course.
Role privileges for managing course access
You can manage the level of control instructor and other roles have for managing course access.
The privilege allowing a user to change course availability and completion was split into two:
- Course/Organization Control Panel (Customization) > Properties, Availability (updated privilege)
- Change Completion Status (on/off) (new privilege)
Additionally, another privilege was added:
- Partial Change Completion Status (on) (new privilege)
- With this privilege, a user can mark a course as complete, but they can’t undo this change.
Course Terms
Use course terms to define the beginning and end of a period of study. You can make courses available during a specific course term.
The Terms page under Courses in the Administrator Panel, each listed term contains:
- Name. The name of each term.
- Duration. The duration for each term.
- Availability. Whether the term has been made available in the system.
- Data Source. How the term was created within the system.
- Courses. The number of courses currently associated with a term. Select the number to see a list of associated courses.
How do terms work?
Terms are defined time periods that help institutions organize courses according to the academic calendar. Your institution may use terms to group courses and control availability in bulk.
The term's start and end dates control where associated courses appear on the Courses page:
| Course Duration | Term Alignment |
|---|---|
| Continuous | Current term |
Select dates: Current date is equal to or between start and end date Current date occurs before the start date Current date occurs after the end date |
Current term Future term Past term |
Days from the end of enrollment Student and guest users with remaining days Student and guest users with no remaining days Non-student, non-guest users |
Current term Past term Current term unless associated with a term in the past of future |
Course Duration - Use Term Duration Continuous Select Dates Current date is equal to or between the Term start and end date Current date occurs before the Term start date Current date occurs after the Term end date Days from end of enrollment Student and guest users with remaining days Student and guest users with no remaining days Non-student, non-guest users |
Current term Future term Past term
Current term Past term Current term |
For administrators: Adjustments to course settings can be made from the Edit Course interface in the administrator panel. Adjusting Course Duration and/or Term Duration will impact the term display logic.
Create or edit a term
- On the Administrator Panel in the Courses section, select Terms.
- To create a new term, select Create Term. To edit an existing term, open the term's menu and select Edit.
- Enter a name and optional description.
- Under Availability, select Yes to make the term available to courses throughout Blackboard Learn. Select No to make the term unavailable.
- Set the Duration for the term.
- Continuous. Create a term with no beginning or end.
- Select Dates. Set calendar dates for the beginning and end of the term. The Start Date must be earlier than the End Date. Courses become available on the morning of the start date (00:01). Courses become unavailable on of the evening of the end date (23:59).
- Days from the end of enrollment. Define a course term as beginning at the close of course enrollment and lasting a specified number of days.
- Select Submit.
Delete terms
When you delete a term, the action is irreversible. Use caution when deleting terms that have courses associated with them.
On the Terms page, open the term's menu and select Delete. Or, use the check boxes to select one or more terms and select Delete.
View courses associated with terms
On the Terms page, open the term's menu and select View Courses. Or, select the number in the Courses column.
The Courses for term page shows all courses associated with a term along with other info, such as course name, date created, and the data source key.
Course term behavior on Courses page
Students and instructors always have access to their courses on the Courses page, no matter which course view the course is delivered in. The Ultra Course View and the Original Course View appear together in the list.
The Courses page displays all courses the users are enrolled in, whether a student, instructor, or another type of course member. Courses are grouped based on duration and associated terms, if any. Users filter by course and term, as well as use the search bar to display the list of courses they want.
Terms: The Courses page contains All Terms. New lists appear on the Courses page when at least one course is associated with a custom term. The header shows the term's name, such as Fall 2026.
Duration: A course's duration is the time between its start and end date. Any course that is currently active, whether it's affiliated with a term or not, appears in Current Courses so course members have easy access. The course's availability or completion doesn't change this setting.
A course's custom duration settings override any associated term dates.
Students and instructors can view all of their courses, whether the course is available or not. Availability controls whether students can access the content. When an instructor completes a course, the course is accessible, but in a read-only state.
Courses not associated with a term
When you create a course, you can control the length of time a course is active. A course can be active continuously, between select dates, or for an amount of time from enrollment. The course's start and end dates control where it appears on the Courses page:
- If the course duration has elapsed, the course is listed under the past term, such as Fall 2022. Past Courses.
- If the course duration is in the present, the course appears in Current Courses.
- If the course start and end dates are both in the future, the course appears in Upcoming Courses.
Courses in the past or upcoming courses appear as unavailable to students.
Courses associated with a term
Terms are defined time periods meant to help institutions organize courses according to the academic calendar. You can add courses to a term so availability options are automatic based on the term's settings. This way, if you need to adjust the availability or duration for all courses delivered in Fall 2026, you can adjust the term's settings rather than manually updating each course.
When you create a course, you can associate it with a term in your system. If you associate the course with a term, you have the option to use the term’s start and end dates for the course's duration and availability. However, if you select a specific availability or duration for a course, it overrides the term's settings. The system uses an individual course's settings even when it's associated with a term.
If you associate a course with a term, but select Yes for Available and Continuous for Duration, students have access to the course even after the term elapses.
The term's start and end dates control where associated courses appear on the Courses page:
- If the term duration has elapsed, the course appears under the listed term name when you filter by that term name.
- If the term duration is in the present, the course is listed under Current Courses with the term name as a group.
- If the term start and end dates are both in the future, the course is listed under Upcoming Courses with the term name as a group.
Courses from past or upcoming terms appear as unavailable to students.
Term groups
If a user is enrolled in a course that is associated with a term, the name of that term appears on the Courses page and all associated courses are grouped together. For example, if a student is enrolled in three courses associated with Fall 2026 and those courses are available and current, the three courses appear grouped under the Current Courses tag.
Course availability display
Course dates, availability, and terms affect where a course appears for an instructor or student. Refer to the table above in "How do terms work?" to understand where a course appears in different scenarios.
If a course is set to Unavailable, it appears on the Courses page according to its duration, though students are unable to access it. Instructors have access to the course, but it appears as Locked.
If a course's duration has ended, it appears on the Courses page, but students are unable to access it. When an instructor opens a course that has ended, a prompt appears asking if the instructor would like to complete the course.
Courses that have a start date in the future and courses with dates in the past are not available to students. Students will still be able to see these courses displayed but not be able to access them.
